Shiba Tatsuya
__FORCETOC__ Shiba Tatsuya (司波 達也) is the main protagonist of The Irregular in Magic High School. He enrolled at the National Magic University Affiliated First High School in April AD2095 with his younger sister, Miyuki (深雪). He got accepted as one of the students to be placed in the Course 2 curriculum, marking the start the series' events. In his second year, he transferred into the newly made Magic Engineering Course. Appearance and Personality Tatsuya is 172.9cm tall (178.8 cm in Volume 3), well-built and often described as mundane-looking compared to other characters in the series. He's also described through other characters' impressions as serious and competent-looking. He is usually expressionless and very rarely does he get surprised or enthusiastic, and whenever he does, however, it's often at the minimum level. In the anime, he has dark hair that reaches his clear blue eyes in several unevenly cut bangs — he shares only his eye color with his sister Miyuki. Her hair color is actually a shade too dark to match his, and her skin is too pale to be a match for his or her mother's. Tatsuya is normally wearing his green, white, and black school uniform, lacking the eight-petaled flower emblem on his blazer during his first year. At home, he generally wears a nondescript black shirt and pants. Tatsuya is intelligent and analytical. His emotions are merely skewed in a certain direction, with one particular half becoming especially sensitive. Thanks to this, he can easily and quickly categorize people into two distinctive groups: hostile and non-hostile (while normal people would see 3 types: hostile, neutral and friendly. They would have a hard time to know who is a friend and who is an enemy since they aren't sensitive). This certainly comes in handy for his military and political life and anything related to conflicts (which is almost everything in life). He doesn't possess the ability to hate nor could he feel any strong emotions like fury, fear, despair, envy, hatred, disgust, gluttony, lust, sloth, and love. The only aspect in him that is perfectly natural — the only emotion that remains — is his love for his sister. Because of this, he tends to either spoil her too much, or be overprotective and completely ruthless when there are threats towards Miyuki's safety. For him, his world revolves around Miyuki and he loves her dearly. In the eyes of their friends, Tatsuya exhibits blatant favoritism towards his sister, and hence is called a siscon Someone with a sister complex. Contrary to his own belief, Tatsuya has a faint degree of emotions and can be kind and caring towards his friends, though he is often irritated by some of them as well. While he cannot feel lust, he can still feel aroused by the actions of certain women (e.g. Mari, Mayumi, and Miyuki). He also acknowledges the charms of females, including his sister, throughout the series. He also worries about his reputation and has some sense of pride though he doesn't seek to attract attention. Due to being treated as a fake magician, he underestimates the merits of his own magic abilities and constantly looks down on himself, having difficulty accepting praise and grasping the meaning beneath indirect words of flirting. He has a bit of an inferiority complex, especially about ordinary things that others own or can handle well. He also has what his friends call an 'unexpected flaw', for being quite slow in fathoming others' goodwill or attraction towards him as he, as explained by Miyuki's point of view, can only interpret them by logical explanation and often questions why people would think positively of himself. In a nutshell, his lack of understanding and experiences in emotions except for his sister, caused lots of misunderstanding in his interaction with others. Because Tatsuya has no memories of other feelings since childhood, he does not know how to respond to people when they are conveying their emotions to him, praising him for his personality, or so forth. This leads to him feeling awkward, astonished, or clueless on how to properly reply. Usually, he can deal with the praises expressed due to tangible achievements, but when it comes to anything regarding him personally, he suffers from inner turmoil of how to respond and may ignore the matter if he has the chance. Background Tatsuya is the eldest son of Shiba Tatsurou and Shiba Miya and is eleven months older than his younger and only sibling Miyuki (his birthday falls on April 24th). They are often mistaken as twins for being in the same year. Prior to the timeline at the beginning of the series, their father remarried six months after their mother's death, and the two of them are living alone in a house, which is described as a place that vastly exceeds the average size. Since he was young, one of the only things in which he shows enthusiasm-like qualities, is in Magic Engineering and CAD developments. He has an aptitude for them and has continually displayed his interest until now, as he is aided by the circumstances. Their house has a basement with the same floor layout as the floor above, redecorated as Tatsuya's lab equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and plentiful area for where new types of magic created by Tatsuya are tested, and for research or other purposes. Yotsuba Tatsuya is a child born from the Yotsuba family. From birth he was the apparent heir for the Yotsuba family. After the birth of his sister Miyuki, and the discovery of his lack of ability to wield magic as it was intended; he became Miyuki's Guardian. Although this is the case, he wasn't accepted as a legitimate member due to the fact that he cannot wield magic. The two types of magic he can freely wield are not considered magic by the family's standards due to its nature of only 'destroying' and 'restoring' information, not 'altering' them. At the present timeline, besides his two natural magics, he was only able to use imitation and theoretical magic, something which could be owed to his other unique abilities and superior intellect. Despite this deficiency, he has taken advantage of his physical prowess and his superpowers to become Miyuki's Guardian, which is considered to be a job of the highest importance in the Yotsuba clan. His combat prowess has also become respected enough that he is now a primary combatant of the Yotsuba clan. Operation With the goal of giving Tatsuya the ability to wield magic like everyone else, his mother, Shiba Miya and her twin sister, also his aunt, Yotsuba Maya, experimented on the six-year-old Tatsuya. Miya used the forbidden Outer-Systematic Magic 'Mental Design Interference,' forcibly altering the area in the consciousness that creates strong emotions, called the limbic system, by inputting a Magic Calculation Model, creating an artificial Magician. The operation however resulted Tatsuya to lose his abilities of strong emotions except for his sister, exchanged for the installation of another Magic Calculation Area, that allows him to use magic, albeit at a lower speed and power, which is still insufficient for him to be regarded as a 'true magician' for the Yotsuba. Other Identities Taurus Silver The genius engineer who had advanced CAD software technology by ten years within one short year. Tatsuya is in fact, half of Mr. Taurus Silver - the far famed Mr Silver ''(ミスター・シルバー). Currently, Taurus Silver heads the Third Division of Four Leaves Technology. The name of ''Taurus Silver ''was used for several reasons. First, Tatsuya was not of age when he developed the Loop-Cast system that Silver is famous for. Legally, it would be impossible for Tatsuya to patent any of his inventions and developments without being of age. Second, Maya wished to keep information about Tatsuya, who is a mere Guardian under the Yotsuba, under wraps as much as possible and having his real name attached to inventions and state-of-the-art technology would have been inconvenient (as too much attention would be placed on him and by extension, Miyuki). It seems there is a plan discussed in which according to it, Tatsuya can finally use 'Shiba Tatsuya' for his inventions after graduation from First High School. Special Lieutenant Ooguro Ryuuya This is the alias that Tatsuya is using in the military, to be specific, in the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion, as an unregistered Strategic-Class Magician. Abilities By his own admission, Tatsuya specializes in combat and assassinations, especially in long-ranged combat. Nonetheless, Tatsuya has a variety of different skills and abilities that make him a formidable foe. Physical Abilities Physically, having trained with Yotsuba combat magicians since he was six years old and with Yakumo and the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion in his preteens & teens, it is said that Tatsuya is second to none and is evaluated to be a master class fighter. Despite being best to long-ranged combat, he is almost unmatched in close combat, due to his physical abilities. His physical abilities are so great that even without the use of magic he can even match magicians using magic to enhance their physical abilities. Ninjutsu Tatsuya is a student of Kokonoe Yakumo, a famous ninjutsu user and someone who passes on traditional shinobi A covert agent, synonymous to ninjas magic know-how. Due to this, he can handle multiple opponents at once and emerge unscathed. Tatsuya's physical abilities surpass normal magicians, who usually just rely on magic to accelerate or fortify their bodies to prevent injuries. It is also thanks to his training that Tatsuya can sense dangerous and hidden presences without relying on his unique magic, Elemental Sight. Yakumo himself has said, "It’s possible that I’m unable to beat Tatsuya-kun in pure martial arts already..." thus proving his physical prowess. Before his present age Tatsuya had learned enough techniques to be considered a master or something close. Through his ninjutsu training, he is a master of chi utilization. Magic Abilities From a magical standpoint, while Tatsuya's casting speed for complex systematic spells is slow, among introduced characters, Tatsuya has the highest known psion count, giving him access to the rare Gram Demolition counter magic and high magical endurance. Tatsuya's intellect and understanding of magic on a theoretical level also allows him to use magic in ways that no one else does. Innate Magic Tatsuya is a Born-Specialized Magician (BS Magician) and is always emphasized as someone whose capability in wielding magic doesn't classify him as any more than a Rank C Magician, by international standards, since international standards require competence in various forms of magic. Tatsuya can only freely wield two types of active magic, based on his innate ability of directly interfering with structural information; 'Decomposition' and 'Regrowth. One is unknown to the world while the other magic is considered difficult and high-class. Owing to this circumstance, his natural Magic Calculation Area is dominated by these two powerful abilities, making him unable to wield other magic. While Tatsuya's abilities are undoubtedly powerful, strictly speaking, at least according to the Yotsuba Family, they are not magic abilities, which involve the altering of Eidos instead of simply breaking down and restoring Eidos. His abilities are thus more akin to being superpowers. This is the main reason why the Yotsuba family treats him as an outcast or a fake Magician. Still, the abilities that he has obtained at birth allows him to excel in combat and assassinations, and makes him a balanced fighter. Tatsuya's magical abilities and talents gives him the greatest advantage in long-range magic. It has been stated that Tatsuya excels in extreme long-distance precision attacks and OTH (over the horizon) sniping, and can easily snipe human targets from a range roughly distanced at 1200 meters. It is indirectly implied throughout the series, that his OTH (over the Horizon) magical sniping gives him the greatest attack range in the magical community. *Elemental Sight' :Elemental Sight is a sensory ability that allows Tatsuya to connect to the Information Dimension. He can then specify the Eidos of their surroundings individually, regardless of distance. He can analyze the Eidos of targets. This allows him to use his two only active magic: Decomposition and Regrowth. *'Decomposition' :It is also known as Dissolution, Disintegration and "Demon Right." With Elemental Sight, he can identify the design of any Eidos or Sequence, then using Decomposition, he can break down that design or structure. For information bodies, such as magic spells, he can directly disassemble the design (see Gram Dispersion). For physical objects, he can break them down into their constituent molecules (see Mist Dispersion), or even further into pure energy (see Material Burst). If used on a person, the parts that form the human body, including skin, flesh, nerves, body fluids, bones, and cellular structures would be decomposed at a molecular level. This is one of the most difficult magic imaginable, able to directly interfere with the design information. The activation speed of Decomposition is mentioned to be 0.05 seconds. Furthermore, with no retaliation, Tatsuya is capable of decomposing 36 targets simultaneously, but under constant fire his upper limit for mass targeting is 24. *'Regrowth' :With Elemental Sight, Tatsuya can "read" the structural information of any object up to 24 hours in the past and with Regrowth, he can restore anything--organic or inorganic--to any point in that time frame. This means that he can restore fatally injured people, including himself, to a state before they were injured. Unlike Decomposition, Regrowth is entirely unique to Tatsuya. Regrowth emits no detectable psions and activates/finishes so quickly that "it is beyond the speed of human cognition." This skill is both passive (done automatically) and active (under conscious control). A requirement of the skill is that Tatsuya must "read" all the information about the target he is trying to restore. Unfortunately, when trying to heal people, this means that Tatsuya must "read" and then experience the recipient's pain in order to use Regrowth. The amount of pain that Tatsuya has to experience is a condensed form of how long and how much pain was experienced by the injured person, within the amount of time that he needs to read the Eidos Change-log. For example, Tatsuya healing Kei Isori during the Yokohama Disturbance VIII (anime), Isori had experienced the pain of the injury for 30 seconds before Tatsuya had caste Regrowth. Tatsuya took 0.2 seconds reading the Eidos Change-log, hence in 0.2 seconds Tatsuya experienced 150 times the amount of pain and suffering that Isori experienced in an condensed form. It is the cost that he needs to pay in order to instantaneously 'remove' all injuries of any type or form incurred on a human or machine by reading and rewinding the Eidos Change-log and then making a full copy to restore the human or machine to its previous state before the injury occurred. Systematic Magic :''See Also: Operation In order to allow him to use Systematic Magic, instead of merely his two natural "powers," his mother and her twin sister operated on Tatsuya when he was 6 years old, installing another Magic Calculation Area or Magic Processor (resulting in him having two) in his mind which allows him to use magic. However, it was inferior to the natural processor in multiple ways. Tatsuya's invocation speed, the scale of the Magic Sequence, and phenomena rewriting ability--the metrics used to rate magicians internationally and at First High School--are all inferior to most magicians. For example, Tatsuya's invocation speed is at least ''four times slower than Miyuki's. To that extent, the Yotsuba considered Tatsuya to be both a fake and incompetent Magician. *'Artificial Magic Processor' :The artificial processor does have some advantages though. Since his artificial processor is located in his conscious mind, Tatsuya is able to visualize and fully comprehend any spell after seeing it only once unlike other magicians who can only experience the physical manifestation of magic spells. Consequently, multi-variable quantitative processing speed and calculation scale are all beyond normal magician limits, allowing Tatsuya to use magic, especially Non-Systematic Magic, in unique and creative ways. As shown in Volume 12, he is even able to "hijack" his opponents' interrupted and incomplete Activation Sequences and use them as his own. *'Flash Cast' :Flash Casting is the Yotsuba Family's secret Single Systematic Magic Casting Technique. It is made possible by mentally "carving" the images of the Activation Sequence into memory, allowing the user to recall the Activation Sequence directly from memory instead of a CAD to construct the Magic Sequence of the spell in the Magic Calculation Area of the brain. Brainwashing the user's mind in this manner allows for faster casting of single systematic spells that are not overly long or complex even without the use of a CAD. In Tatsuya's case, he takes Flash Casting to a whole new level. Because of Tatsuya's unique ability to actually see even the Magic Sequence (which is different from Activation Sequence) of a spell, it is heavily implied that as long he can remember the full structure of the Magic Sequence itself, not only can he bypass using the Activation Sequence of a spell from a CAD like the rest of the Yotsuba Family, but he can also bypass recalling the Activation Sequence and even bypass the process of constructing the Magic Sequence in the Magic Calculation Area. This allows for true ''instantaneous ''casting of any single systematic magic spell that he sees and remembers as long as the spell is short (five processes or fewer). As his natural abilities are Regrowth and Decomposition, Tatsuya does not specialize in any Systematic-Type Magic when he is not using his natural abilities, usually relying more on Non-Systematic Magic, especially counter magic, along with his physical abilities to bring the enemy down, as shown in his tendency to use Resonance and Compound Waves (both Non-Systematic Magic) to knock his enemies out. Nevertheless, he does seem to slightly favor Oscillation-Type Magic in combat. Non-Systematic Magic & Counter Magic Non-Systematic Magic aims to manipulate the Psions themselves rather than altering Eidos using the Psions. Therefore, the limitations of Tatsuya's artificial magic processor (mainly the lack of processing speed in altering Eidos) do not apply. This is probably the reason why Tatsuya so often relies on Non-Systematic Magic. Unfortunately, while Non-Systematic Magic is called ''magic, it is usually only sufficient for combat as distractions, interferences, or traps and not for creating phenomenon. *'Compound Waves' :Tatsuya fires several waves of psions to resonate with a person's biological waves, creating a hallucinogenic effect in his opponent and knocking them out. *'Psion Transfer' :One of the Yotsuba secret techniques is the ability to transform information into psion signals and transfer that information through the nervous system and into another person's subconscious Magic Calculation Area. Tatsuya performs this technique multiple times with Miyuki to send her images and locations of targets and uses an application of this technique to forcibly suppress Miyuki's uncontrolled power (by forcing Miyuki's Psions back into her). Most forms of counter magic are categorized under Non-Systematic Magic, as they are techniques that directly manipulate Eidos itself and not the phenomenon-altering mechanism of Eidos. Tatsuya excels in counter magic and has even developed techniques himself. *'Gram Demolition' :Gram Demolition is one of the two strongest counter magics within Non-Systematic Magic. It uses compressed Psion particles to blow away the Activation Sequence. It is simply a cannonball of Psions that has neither structure nor a Magic Ritual to modify an event, so it is not affected by Zone Interference. There are only two known "flaws" in the technique. First is that the psions travel in the physical realm (as opposed to the Information Dimension) and thus has limited range. Second, Gram Demolition is a highly inefficient technique that requires an incredibly high psion count, making it an incredibly rare technique. :Tatsuya also was able to apply Gram Demolition on parts of his body for close combat. *'Far Strike' :Far Strike is a form of Gram Demolition developed by Tatsuya, but it works on the Information Dimension rather than the physical realm. Far Strike affects the astral form rather than the physical form, the "soul" to be specific which he can "see" with the aid of Miyuki. *'Gram Dispersion' :Gram Dispersion is the other strongest counter magic within Non-Systematic Magic. Gram Dispersion is literally that: Gram (or Magic) Dispersion/Dissolution. This magic takes a Magic Sequence and decomposes it into a group of Psion particles without a meaningful structure. Gram Dispersion is considered impossible to use in the age of modern magic. To dissolve a magic sequence as required by Gram Dispersion, it is necessary to analyze the magic before the magic is activated. Since with the advent of CADs, spell invocation take less than a fraction of the second, a full understanding of the magic being used before the magic has been cast was considered impossible. However, Tatsuya is able to use this because of his other ability, Elemental Sight. Tatsuya's Gram Dispersion can also be considered an extension of his Decomposition magic. *'Specific Magic Jamming' :Specific Magic Jamming or Pseudo Cast Jamming is a counter magic developed by Tatsuya. It involves utilizing the Psion waves that interferes with one another when using two CADs simultaneously. One CAD invokes the jamming spell while the other CAD does a spell reversal. From two opposing spells, the simultaneous activations will release Psion incident interference waves. It is difficult to use as this jamming must be done precisely at the moment the opponent is casting (or recasting) their spells and because all three spells (the user's jamming spell, the user's reversal spell, and the opponent's spell that the caster is trying to jam) involved must be of the same type, hence "specific" magic jamming. Tatsuya is able to use this because his artificial magic processor allows him to read and interpret any spell he sees. * Baryon Lance :The "New Magic" is a magic that Tatsuya is developing in order to counter magics, such as Heavy Metal Burst, Juumonji's Phalanx, and Tomitsuka's Contact Type Gram Demolition. This magic is based off the FAE theory used to make Brionac, a weapon developed by the USNA. At the start of Volume 14, we learn that Tatsuya cannot properly use the magic and is still in the stage of development. Although by the end of Ancient City Insurrection Chapter (II), it is suggested that it is ready for practical use. Ironically, while Tatsuya can be considered a counter magic specialist, he is even better at countering counter magic. Most means of counter magic either involve Cast Jamming via Antinite or relying on Zone Interference to prevent the other magician from casting. Cast Jamming relies on a steady but meaningless waves of psions to create "background noise," greatly disrupting the spell invocation speed to the point that the spell cannot be cast. However, this psion wave can either be blown away with Gram Demolition or disassembled with Gram Dispersion or Decomposition as even psion waves have structure. Moreover, Zone Interference does absolutely nothing to prevent Non-Systematic Magic. Magic Engineering Related Articles: Four Leaves Technology | Taurus Silver Tatsuya has shown a genius-level intellect and ability to create new magic sequences and software in CADs. He spreads his innovative ideas about magic under the name Taurus Silver, which is known throughout the magical community around the world. His innovative ideas has given the name "Taurus Silver" immense fame because he is called the genius engineer that advanced CAD software technology by ten years within one short year. His skill is shown in the Nine Schools Competition when all the players under his charge swept their events. He was able to come up with new types of magic, apply state-of-the-art technology, reconfigure dozens of Ancient Magic spells into a more efficient form within modern magic within one hour (even basic configuration of CADs would take three hours), creating a weaponized CAD completely from scratch, and program & streamline A-rank magic spells to help his players win. His skill was so great that student engineers from other schools ironically compared him to Taurus Silver and First High School had to create a Magic Engineering Course just so that Tatsuya would not be listed as a Course 2 student (which would look bad for the school's curriculum and assessment method). It has also been suggested that Tatsuya has been able to discover and use all 16 Cardinal Codes. The Cardinal Codes are the name for the 16 fundamental Magic Sequences within the 'Cardinal Code Hypothesis'. This theory states that there are 16 fundamental Magic Sequences, from the Eight Major Types of Magic with the corresponding positive and negative poles. The theory states that any magic from the Four Great Systems and Eight Major Types of Magic can be recreated using various combinations. To date, only one Cardinal Code has been publicized and other magic engineers have spent their lives trying to discover these Cardinal Codes. Nonetheless, if he does know them, Tatsuya doesn't appear to be interested in releasing the Cardinal Codes to the public, perhaps because Tatsuya knows that the Cardinal Code Hypothesis is incorrect. According to Tatsuya, there is magic within the Four Great Systems that cannot be recreated using the Cardinal Codes. The Cardinal Codes do exist as building blocks, but not every magic can be recreated. Discovered & Invented Magic Spells or Concepts *'Loop Cast System' :Loop Cast System skips the step of restarting each Activation Sequence each time the same magic spell is invoked. This is done by adding a copying power to the Magic Calculation Area's execution mode, adding a copy of the Activation Sequence's last parts to the Activation Sequence itself, so Magicians can endlessly invoke magic within their ability. The Loop Cast System raises the activation speed by twenty percent and reduces the variability of wireless CAD models from 3 percent to less than 1 percent. Although the theory existed in the past, no one could apply it until Tatsuya did it as Taurus Silver. *'Sustained Gravity-Control Type Magic (Flying Type Magic)' :This is the solution to the second of the Three Great Puzzles of Weight-Type Systematic Magic. Flying Magic has been used in the past as part of Ancient Magic, but all attempts to produce a generalized form with modern magic had failed. Tatsuya was able to apply the principles of the Loop Cast System in conjunction with an incredibly small initial Activation Sequence for a Weight-Type Magic. *'Selective Cast Jamming' :Using two CADs, Tatsuya is able to selectively prevent certain spells from activating. Tatsuya claims he came upon this by accident. *'Active Air Mine' :Active Air Mine is a spell (presumably Oscillation-Type) that Tatsuya specifically made for the Speed Shooting event that Shizuku participated in. It enables the user to tag all solids that enter the Magic Activation Zone with magic vibratory waves, destroying the targets. By generating compression waves inside the target, it undergoes repeated partial expansion and contraction. The rapid heating and cooling is repeated and hence, even solid rock weakens and collapses. *'Generalized/Specialized CAD hybrid' :Generalized CAD models are more versatile while specialized CAD models are faster. At the Nine Schools Competition, Tatsuya was able to perfect the still-in-research-phase method of attaching auxiliaries on a generalized CAD to give it the speed performance of a specialized CAD without losing any of the versatility of a generalized model. His skills were so great that Masaki called Tatsuya a "monster" at magic engineering and that Third High School would be using equipment that was two or three generations behind First High School's. *'Gravity Control-Type Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor' :This is the first of the Three Great Puzzles of Weight-Type Systematic Magic. Tatsuya has actually worked on two different proposals for a Gravity Control-Type Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor. The first proposal was with Ichihara Suzune and Isori Kei at the National High School Magic Theory Thesis Competition, involving a proton-to-proton chain reaction to create an intermittent style of nuclear fusion. Tatsuya's own proposal, part of which was used as a demonstration in the Double Seven chapter (Volume 12), uses a heavy hydrogen reaction that is more efficient but slightly more risky (although the risk is still negligible) with magicians supplying the magic to make the reactor work. It is unclear just how feasible Suzune's approach is, but Tatsuya's approach has been proven to work as long as the magicians are present (Kei, Honoka, Miyuki, Minami, Kasumi, and Izumi in this particular demonstration) and if the magic supplied is both steady and powerful. According to Tatsuya, the only remaining thing needed to create a true independent reactor, without magicians constantly supplying the power, is the ability to store magic sequences. Magic Limiter Miyuki, as a natural Mental Interference Magician, acts as his limiter. This stops him from showing his true might, making him unable to use his Strategic spell and blocking his access to his psion reserves. When the limiters are released, he is surrounded by a maelstrom of psions that would cause anyone to lurch away from him; an amount greater than his sister's and Mayumi's. The full effects of this limiter are currently unspecified and thus it's unknown if it affects his ordinary magic talent or limits his ability to use his natural magics. As for Miyuki, while she is limiting her brother, her magic territory is also sealed as half of her Magic Power is used to seal her brother's power. This causes her magic to escape her control, causing her to accidentally lower the temperature in the room whenever she is upset. Equipment Silver Horn Custom "Trident" A Specialized CAD based off the long-barreled Silver Series Silver Horn. It is inputted with most of Tatsuya's high level Decomposition magics. Tatsuya has used this CAD to cast high precision magic, decomposing needle-sized holes which target his opponents' nerves and blood vessels to incapacitate and cause severe pain. It is customized specifically to activate three consecutive magics into one Magic Sequence. In the Battalion, "Trident" is the name given to this merciless triple Decomposition magic as well as the CAD that performs this. This is Tatsuya's favored instrument. This CAD has interchangeable cartridges loaded with different types of magic. Third Eye A large caliber rifle CAD designed specifically for Tatsuya to use Strategic Level Decomposition Magic "Material Burst." It (Third Eye) does not fire a physical projectile. Thus acceleration and movement magic sequences are not needed. The rifle is connected to a satellite to allow for precision targeting. With this CAD, Tatsuya was able to hit a 50mg drop of water from 80 km away. Due to its nature as the only weapon Material Burst can be used reliably '''and '''quickly with at long distance, the key card to the CAD case is kept by Major Kazama and the CAD is maintained by the engineer Captain Sanada. Captain Sanada is also the one that keeps the voice-recognition mechanism's password: in the light novel, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" Volume 7, Chapter 13 (a Biblical reference to a recurring sentence in the Book of Ecclesiastes); in the anime, "Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form" Episode 25 '' (a famous saying from the the Heart Sutra, one of the best known and most popular Buddhist prayers). It is kept at the Independent Magic Equipped Battalion's headquarters. Mobile Suit Bulletproof, heat resistant, shock resistant, and also resistant to biological and chemical weapons and a simple motion supplement system. The Flying Device was also attached to the belt. When coupled with the shock resistant function, it can completely nullify the recoil when firing, so he can also fire in the air. Other *He is in possession of the Magatama-Class Relic *He has also used a grenade canister, knives, guns, bikes and a car, showing his resourcefulness. *Through Kokonoe Yakumo, he has also learned how to use projectile weapons such as marbles, although it was noted that he required more training on this skill. *He owns an electric motorcycle and a bulletproof car. School Activities *Public Morals Committee - April 2095 ~ March 2096 Tatsuya became almost as famous as the Chief herself, due to his abilities. He had the highest number of incident encounters and therefore the most apprehensions among committee members. *Student Council - April 2096 ~ Present His skills are so great that he has to leave early to allow other members to carry out their duties, otherwise he would be running the Student Council alone. When he first joined the Student Council in 2095, he was in the Public Morals Committee but proceeding into the following year he was promoted to Vice President. *Nine Schools Competition - AD2095 & AD2096 He was a part of the engineering team and was lauded for winning First Place for every event he was in charge of. Tatsuya also participated in Monolith Code and was responsible for winning First Place and beating Ichijou Masaki in a head-on confrontation. *National High School Magic Theory Thesis Competition - AD2095 He was a part of the Thesis writing team, aiding Suzune. He was responsible for the calibrations of the magic techniques used during the demonstration. Academic Grades Magical abilities aside, Tatsuya could be said to be one of First High's most outstanding students coming in first place on the theory portions of the exams every single time. His average in the theory portion during his early first year was easily a dozen points higher than the second place score, which belonged to his sister Miyuki. Over the course of the series he has maintained distinctions and his grades have yet to falter, something that could be owed to his intellect and encyclopedic knowledge. People who know his identity and secrets *Yotsuba Maya - knows he is Taurus Silver, the unregistered Japanese Strategic-Class Magician and his identity as the combat Magician "Mahesvara", member of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion (military), and affiliated with the Yotsuba Clan. Also it is implied that she knows secrets about Tatsuya that have not yet been revealed in the series. *Hayama, as Maya's confidante, knows about him as well. *Some other members of the Yotsuba clan were mentioned to also know about Tatsuya being used not only as a tool but as a weapon. However, it has not been mentioned who these people are, and whether if the Yotsuba know if he is Silver or not. *Sakurai Minami - When Tatsuya mentioned that he was a Strategic-class Magician to Minami, she did not seem surprised, so it can be assumed that she was told about his secrets before being ordered to live with the Shiba siblings. *Shiba Miyuki - knows he is Taurus Silver, Japanese Strategic-Class Magician, part of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion (military), and a person from the Yotsuba Clan. *Officers of 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion knows that he is Taurus Silver, a Japanese Strategic-Class Magician, a part of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion (military), and a person from the Yotsuba Clan. *Mibu Yuuzou - Mibu Sayaka's father; heard things about Tatsuya from Major Kazama but we don't know the extent of what he knows. *Kudou Retsu - Knows that he is the son of Yotsuba Miya, and that he serves in the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion (military) as a Strategic Class Magician. He might know more about him than Tatsuya himself. *Angelina Kudou Shields speculated that he is an unregistered/classified Japanese Strategic-Class Magician and that he was part of the military, but changed her mind and decided that he was a Mental Interference Illusionist. *Chiba Erika knows that he is from the Yotsuba Clan, a Special Lieutenant in the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion under Major Kazama's orders and that he can use the magic "Regrowth". *Chiba Naotsugu knows that he's a soldier in the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion with connections to Major Kazama and wields powerful magic for a high schooler. *Juumonji Katsuto knows that he is a Special Lieutenant in the military under Major Kazama and has suspected/may still suspect that he is from the Ten Master Clans. *Kitayama Shizuku knows that he is a Special Lieutenant in the military under Major Kazama. She also may know more, depending on what Raymond Clark told her about Tatsuya. *Nakajou Azusa firmly believes that he is Taurus Silver. *Ono Haruka suspects that he may have connections to Fujibayashi Kyouko and possibly the JSDF. *Raymond Clark affirmatively knows that he is an unregistered/classified Japanese Strategic-Class Magician with the ability to use Material Burst and that he is a part of the military. He may also know that he is a member of the Yotsuba. *Saegusa Mayumi knows that he can use the magic "Regrowth," saw him using "Decomposition," knows that he is a Special Lieutenant in the military under Major Kazama and speculates that he is an Extra from the Yotsuba Clan. *Saegusa Koichi knows that he is a member of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion and that the squad has links to the Yotsuba and suspects that he and Miyuki have some connection to the Yotsuba. *Shibata Mizuki knows that he can construct Magic Sequences without looking at the Activation Sequence (Flash Cast), able to use the magic "Regrowth" and that he is a Special Lieutenant under Major Kazama. *Saijou Leonhart speculates that he knows and can use all 16 Cardinal Codes, knows he can use the magic "Regrowth", knows that he is a Special Lieutenant in the military under Major Kazama and that he is in the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. *Watanabe Mari, Ichihara Suzune, Chiyoda Kanon, Isori Kei, Mibu Sayaka, Kirihara Takeaki, Yoshida Mikihiko, and Mitsui Honoka knows he can use the magic "Regrowth" and knows that he is a Special Lieutenant in the military under Major Kazama. *Ichijou Masaki knows that he is a Special Lieutenant of the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. Trivia *Shiba Tatsuya's personality, equipment, names and abilities are heavily based on the god Shiva (Mahesvara). Shiva is one of the most revered and fascinating figures in Hindu mythology; he is the god who represents everything outside the established system, described as being both God and the Devil in one and is heavily worshiped and feared. Shiva is held to be the Supreme God within Shaivism, one of the four largest sects within Hinduism. His weapon is a trident, which is also the given name to Tatsuya's ultimate weapon. *His nickname Destroyer or of Destruction was given to him by Raymond Clark, one of the Seven Sages. *Tatsuya has admittedly called several female characters beautiful in different degrees in his thoughts, though he has never shown any trace of arousal or attraction, as well as outward embarrassment, regardless of the situations or how a female character presents themselves to him. *Tatsuya's voice actor is '''Yuuichi Nakamura', the same person who had voiced Kyousuke Kousaka, the male protagonist of Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai. Many fans have found this humorous due to the fact that Shiba Miyuki's voice actress is Saori Hayami, the same person who had voiced Ayase Aragaki of the same show. Ironically, Ayase would often criticize Kyousuke due to his sis-con personality. *Tatsuya and Miyuki appear on the commercial board of a building in Accel World Episode 6. *It was mentioned in the Summer Holiday Chapter that Tatsuya's body was covered with scars all over, except for his head. *It may be a coincidence, but Tatsuya's initials are "ST", the reverse of Taurus Silver, "TS". (Note that in Japan, family names are typically said first, ex. Shiba Tatsuya) *Similarly, the writer Tsutomu Satou's initials are "TS" as well, although this too may be a coincidence. *Despite only being seventeen, many people who personally know Tatsuya assume that he is older than his actual age; Fujibayashi being one of them. The only exception is Mayumi who compared him to a child. *His speech mannerisms could be said to rival even those living in the upper class society. Notes References Category:Japan Category:Magicians Category:First High School Category:Weeds Category:Public Morals Committee Category:Student Council Category:Magic Engineering Course Category:Guardian Category:BS Magicians Category:Ancient Magic User Category:Military Category:101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion Category:Strategic-Class Magicians Category:Yotsuba Category:Ten Master Clans